Chapter 168
Lynette's POV
The forest edge felt too exposed. Every second we stayed there, I expected another attack. My muscles were still coiled tight from the fight, adrenaline making my hands shake slightly as I helped Owen limp toward the clearing where we'd parked.
"I've got him," Mira said, moving to Owen's other side. Her voice was flat, professional. "You two should go talk to Kael."
I looked at the injured man. His face was gray, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool air. The gash on his leg had stopped bleeding, but he needed proper medical attention.
"Get him to the medical center," I said. "Fast."
Mira nodded once. She was already calculating routes, I could see it in the way her eyes moved. Good. That's what I needed from her—efficiency, not questions.
Owen grabbed my wrist as we reached the SUV. His grip was weak but desperate. "Thank you. If you hadn't... if you three hadn't..."
"Don't," I cut him off. The gratitude made my chest tight. "Just heal. We'll figure out what happened to your people."
His eyes filled with something that looked like hope. I hated it. Hope was dangerous. Hope got people killed.
But I didn't say that. I just helped Mira ease him into the backseat.
"We need to move," Elara said quietly beside me. She was watching the tree line, her body tense. "If Rezar's people are still around..."
She was right. We were sitting ducks here.
"Call for medical pickup," I told Mira. "We'll take the car."
Mira was already on her phone, speaking in rapid, clipped tones. Ten minutes later, I heard another engine approaching—a grey van with medical markings. Two men got out, moving efficiently to load Owen into the back.
"I'll meet you there," Mira said to me through the window before climbing in with Owen.
The van pulled away, kicking up dirt and dead leaves.
Elara and I stood there for a moment, watching it disappear down the rough forest road.
"Kael," I said, turning toward our SUV. "We need to talk to Kael."
---
My hands were steadier on the steering wheel than they should have been. Muscle memory from my old body, maybe. Or maybe I was just too focused on what I needed to say to let the fear in.
Elara was quiet in the passenger seat. I could feel her looking at me every few seconds, but I kept my eyes on the road.
"What are you going to tell him?" she asked finally.
"The truth." I took a corner too fast. "That Wild Hunt is actively hunting rogues in his territory. That they're organized, armed, and led by someone named Rezar."
"And Owen?"
"He's evidence."
"Lynette." Her voice was soft but firm. "He's a person."
I gripped the wheel tighter. "I know that."
"Do you?"
The question hit harder than it should have. I wanted to snap back, to remind her that I'd spent twenty years learning to separate emotion from strategy because that's how you survived. But the words stuck in my throat.
Because she was right. Owen wasn't just evidence. He was someone's friend, maybe someone's family. He'd been terrified, hurt, alone.
Just like I'd been, once.
"I know," I said again, quieter this time. "I just... we need Kael's help. And to get it, I need to present this the right way."
Elara didn't answer. But I felt her hand touch my arm briefly—a small gesture of understanding.
We pulled into the driveway between our house and Kael's. The grey paint of our home looked dull in the afternoon light. Kael's house, by contrast, was all dark wood and sharp angles. Intimidating even when empty.
I killed the engine and just sat there for a second, staring at his front door.
"You okay?" Elara asked.
"Yeah." I wasn't. My heart was pounding. "Let's go."
---
The doorbell echoed inside Kael's house. I could hear it clearly—too clearly. My enhanced hearing picking up every sound. Footsteps. A door closing somewhere deeper in the house. Then heavier footsteps approaching.
The door swung open.
Kael stood there in a dark grey t-shirt and jeans, his hair slightly disheveled like he'd been running his hands through it. His amber eyes locked onto mine immediately, and I saw his whole posture shift. The casual relaxation vanished, replaced by alert focus.
"Lynette." His gaze moved to Elara, then back to me. "What happened?"
"We need to talk," I said. "Now."
He stepped back without a word, holding the door open. We walked inside, and I was hit immediately by his scent—cedar and something darker, more complex. It made my wolf stir restlessly.
Not now, I told her silently.
Kael led us into the living room. It was clean, modern, almost sterile except for—
I stopped dead.
There was a map spread across the coffee table. A detailed topographical map with hand-drawn notations in red and blue ink. Arrows. Symbols. Strategic markers.
My eyes traced the lines before I could stop myself. The red arrows pointed toward what I recognized as the main Harrington estate. The blue marks were scattered at key defensive positions around the territory.
This wasn't just a map. This was a battle plan.
"Sit," Kael said, his voice tight. He moved quickly, gathering papers from the table and stacking them on top of the map. Not hiding it exactly, but... obscuring it.
Our eyes met for a second. He knew I'd seen it. And he knew I understood what it meant.
But he didn't say anything. Just gestured to the couch.
I sat. Elara settled beside me, her knee bouncing nervously.
"We went to Black Ridge Forest," I said, forcing my mind away from the map. "The rogue camp. It was attacked."
Kael's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes. "When?"
"Recently. Within the last day, maybe less." I leaned forward. "It was professional. Organized. They took everyone—every single wolf in that camp. Except one."
"Who?"
"Man named Owen. He was trapped under debris. Mira's taking him to medical now."
Kael was already pulling out his phone. "Did he see who did it?"
"He said they were trained. Moving like soldiers. And the leader..." I paused, making sure he was listening. "The leader had an Eastern European accent. Owen heard the others call him Rezar."
Kael's thumb stopped mid-scroll on his phone. He looked up at me slowly.
"Rezar," he repeated.
"You know the name?"
"I know of it." He pressed a contact, put the phone to his ear. "Drake. I need you to pull everything we have on an operative named Rezar. Wild Hunt affiliate. Eastern European, probably ex-military... Yes, everything. Activity logs, known associates, last confirmed location. I don't care if it's two in the morning in Prague, wake up whoever you need to wake up."
He paused, listening.
"No. Just information for now. And Drake? Fast."
He ended the call and looked at me. "Drake will move fast. But this won't be easy."
"How long?"
"As long as it takes." Kael set his phone on the arm of his chair, his jaw tight. "Sit. Both of you."
I was already sitting. But I understood what he meant. This was going to be a wait.
---
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Kael sat across from us, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped. He was thinking—I could see it in the way his eyes had gone distant and calculating.
Elara shifted beside me. "Um," she said quietly. "Does anyone want... I mean, Kael, do you have anything to drink? Water or...?"
"Kitchen," Kael said without looking up. "Help yourself."
Elara stood quickly. Too quickly. "I'll just... I'll go get some water. For everyone. And maybe—actually, I'll run next door and grab some food. You guys must be hungry. I'll be right back."
She was out of the room before I could stop her.
The front door opened and closed.
And then it was just me and Kael.
I stared at the stack of papers covering the map. He stared at his phone.
"So," I said finally. "Rezar."
"So," he echoed.
Another silence.
I couldn't take it. My eyes drifted back to the coffee table, to the edge of the map still visible beneath the papers. I could see part of the Pinehollow territory marked in blue, defensive positions marked with small circles and numbers.
This wasn't about Wild Hunt. This was about something else entirely.
This was about Kael preparing to take his father's position by force.
"What are you looking at?" Kael's voice cut through my thoughts.
I jerked my gaze up. He was watching me with those sharp amber eyes, his expression unreadable.
"Nothing," I said quickly. "Just thinking about Rezar. About why Wild Hunt would target rogues."
His eyes narrowed slightly. Like he was trying to decide if I was lying.
I held his gaze. Steady. Calm.
Because the truth was, I wasn't ready to talk about what I'd seen. Not yet. Whatever Kael was planning with his father—that was his business. I had enough problems of my own.
"Lynette—"
His phone buzzed.
We both looked at it.
Kael picked it up, swiped to answer, and put it on speaker. "Talk."
Drake's voice came through, clipped and professional. "Found him. But boss... the situation is more complicated than we thought."